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Leyland: Martinez Could Fill In For Injured Cabrera

Victor Martinez #41 and Miguel Cabrera #24 of the Detroit Tigers congratulate each other after the Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-1 to win the game at Kauffman Stadium on July 21, 2013 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

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DETROIT (97.1 The Ticket) - Detroit Tigers Manager Jim Leyland called into the Stoney & Bill with Sara Morning Show ahead of Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals.

Leyland took time to reflect on the Tigers’ performance in Chicago, on Miguel Cabrera’s injury, on Fielder’s post-All Star Game slump and on the bull pen.

Leyland also detailed some possible future plans for Victor Martinez that are quite interesting.

“I don’t want to start the fans in an uproar, but we were just talking yesterday if Miggy could not play because he was hurting the night before, you know, would we play Victor at third for a game and, you know, just to get the offensive, to get the lead and make a defensive switch,” he said.

“And this is a total emergency situation where, you know, maybe we could DH Miggy and put Victor at third for a day or something like that, you know, to keep the bat in there because the bottom of our lineup is probably not as strong as it was,” he added.

Leyland said they have confidence in Martinez, who is viewed as a versatile player.

“He’s got good hands, it’s just the matter of the quickness of the ball. He takes ground balls all the time during batting practice, so, Victor can catch the ball,” he said.

Then, Leyland talked about a side the fans never really get to see: his fun side.

“When we win sometimes he’s excited, he does the moonwalk. Can you believe it? He moonwalks in the clubhouse. I’m like ‘Did anybody just see this?’ this guy is unbelievable, he’s a lot of fun.”

And Leyland had to admit, he loves doing the dance when his players win.

“Yeah, I give the boys a little treat once in a while,” he said with a laugh. “You like to have a little fun with them. You know, the games are very stressful for the players, the managers, the coaches and everything. When you win, I think it’s nice to show a little fun side and have somebody laugh at you a little bit, they get a kick out of it. We have a good time, we’ve got a good group and we have a good time. Fortunately, we’ve been winning some games, that makes it easier. If we win, you do the moonwalk and if we don’t win you do another walk, I guess.”